Smart Plus Project

SMART PLUS is a two-year educational research project funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union which aims to develop an innovative system that identifies gaps in competences required by the tourism industry and educational institutions. In addition, SMART PLUS will offer a range of online learning resources and trainings to extend the impact that this research can have on European educational institutions as they promote employability and prepare their students for the global labour market.

Through project deliverables such as self-assessment tools, e-learning solutions and online open access to educational resources, SMART PLUS will allow institutions to customise trainings according to learning needs and objectives. The three principal outcomes are as follows:

SMART PLUS System: A self-assessment tool that will identify skills and competences that are relevant for the tourism industry at the EU-level and will allow educational institutions to identify the mismatch between training contents and labour market demand.

SMART PLUS Learning Resources: In response to the results of the self-assessment tool, a modular training will be designed to help institutions tackle the mismatch problem and support students in acquiring relevant competences. The training will be composed of independent training modules addressing five core EU-identified competences for lifelong learning: intercultural competences, entrepreneurship, soft skills, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and communication in foreign languages.

SMART PLUS Online Platform: This online portal provides institutions and students with access to the self-assessment tool, the e-learning solution, and a repository of additional open educational resources that allow institutions to customise the training according to learner needs.

This project is led and coordinated by Estudios Universitarios y Superiores de Andalucía (EUSA) in Sevilla, Spain, in collaboration with four other partners: International Consulting and Mobility Agency, S.L. (INCOMA) in Seville, Spain; Inova Consultancy LTD. (INOVA) in Sheffield, United Kingdom; Educational Community in Rome, Italy , and Future Internet LivingLab Association (FILAB) in Budapest, Hungary.